Accessibility Statement
Mnemoscene Ltd is committed to making Exhibit accessible to people of all levels of ability, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This accessibility statement applies to exhibit.so and the Exhibit software platform, including the Exhibit Player (@exhibit/player), the custom IIIF Viewer (@exhibit/iiif-viewer), the Exhibit Editor, and the Documentation portal.
Using this web application
We want as many people as possible to be able to use Exhibit. That means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels, and fonts using browser or operating system settings (including Light, Dark, and High Contrast / Forced Colors modes)
- zoom in up to 400% without text spilling off the screen or loss of functionality
- navigate the entire web application—including exhibit playback, deep-zoom image inspection, 3D model rotation, audio/video controls, and the exhibit authoring interface—using only a keyboard
- navigate the web application using speech recognition software or switch devices
- listen to the web application using a screen reader (including recent versions of VoiceOver, NVDA, and JAWS), with live announcements as exhibit steps, slides, and canvas states change
- pause or disable automatic animations and transitions by enabling Reduce Motion in your operating system preferences (
prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)
We have also written interface labels and documentation to be as clear and straightforward as possible. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Keyboard navigation and shortcuts
Exhibit's custom IIIF Viewer (@exhibit/iiif-viewer) and Exhibit Player (@exhibit/player) provide built-in keyboard controls so you can explore exhibits and collection items without a mouse:
| Context | Key | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Exhibit Player (Landing Page) | Enter | Start the exhibit |
| Exhibit Player (Slides, Kiosk, Quiz) | ← / → | Move to the previous or next exhibit step |
| Exhibit Player (Slides, Kiosk, Quiz) | ↑ / ↓ | Collapse or expand the slide description overlay |
| Exhibit Player (Kiosk) | Space | Pause or resume automatic slide progression |
| Exhibit Player & IIIF Viewer | i | Open or close the manifest information sheet |
| Exhibit Player & IIIF Viewer | Escape | Close open dialogs, info sheets, or thumbnail strips |
| IIIF Multi-Canvas Thumbnail Strip | ← / → | Move focus between canvas thumbnails (Enter / Space opens) |
| IIIF Deep-Zoom Image Viewer | + / = or - | Zoom in or zoom out on the canvas |
| IIIF Deep-Zoom Image Viewer | 0 | Reset the camera to the home view |
| IIIF Deep-Zoom Image Viewer | Arrow keys | Pan across the high-resolution image canvas |
| IIIF 3D Model Viewer | Arrow keys | Orbit and rotate the 3D object |
| IIIF 3D Model Viewer | + / - | Zoom the 3D camera in or out |
| IIIF 3D Model Viewer | 0 | Reset the 3D camera to the default view |
| Documentation | ⌘K / Ctrl+K or / | Open the documentation search dialog |
Compliance status
This web application is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 Level AA standard, and meets selected Level AAA criteria including 2.1.3 Keyboard (No Exception), 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions (prefers-reduced-motion support across OpenSeadragon, Three.js, and GSAP), and 2.4.8 Location.
Key accessibility capabilities built into the platform include:
- Native Exhibit IIIF Viewer (
@exhibit/iiif-viewer): Exhibit uses its own purpose-built IIIF Presentation 2.0 and 3.0 viewer for 2D deep-zoom images (OpenSeadragon), 3D GLB models (Three.js), HTML5 audio/video, and YouTube media, with accessible toolbar controls, ARIA slider scrubs, keyboard pan/zoom/orbit, and focus-trapped information sheets. - Screen reader live regions: Moving between exhibit slides, scrolling through narrative steps, or answering Quiz questions announces the current step number, item title, and feedback via polite ARIA live regions.
- Accessible Exhibit Editor: All authoring controls—including the rich-text editor toolbar, colour pickers, drag-and-drop item and step lists (powered by
@dnd-kitwith keyboard sensor announcements), and media framing tools—are labelled and operable by keyboard. - Authoring guidance: See Creating Accessible Exhibits for best practices when writing descriptions, choosing custom colours, and configuring Kiosk timing.
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Third-party IIIF manifests and institutional collections
Exhibit is an open storytelling platform designed to load third-party IIIF manifests, images, audiovisual streams, and 3D models hosted by external cultural heritage institutions and user contributors. While Exhibit provides accessible player controls, metadata panels, and authoring fields, we cannot guarantee that third-party media streams include embedded closed captions, audio descriptions, or complete institutional metadata where these are omitted by the source repository.
Interactive 3D WebGL visualisations
Where an exhibit renders 3D WebGL scenes, spatial perception of 3D geometry is inherently visual. To ensure equivalent access, Exhibit pairs every 3D canvas with keyboard camera controls, structured item metadata in the information sheet (i), and author-provided step commentary.
What to do if you cannot access parts of this web application
If you need information from this web application in a different format—such as an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording, or braille—please contact us at:
We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days. If your request relates to a specific collection item hosted by a partner institution, we can also help direct your enquiry to the relevant collection owner.
Reporting accessibility problems
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of Exhibit. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us at:
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the 'accessibility regulations'). If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was originally prepared on 21 September 2020. It was last reviewed and updated on 28 October 2026 following a comprehensive WCAG 2.2 Level AA/AAA accessibility audit of the Exhibit platform, custom IIIF viewer, and authoring suite carried out by Mnemoscene Ltd.
Exhibit is tested continuously using automated and manual accessibility checks, including:
- Automated DOM, ARIA, contrast, and keyboard focus verification via Playwright and Lighthouse
- Keyboard-only walkthroughs across all four exhibit templates (Scroll, Slides, Kiosk, and Quiz), the standalone IIIF viewer, Discover search, and the Exhibit Editor
- Screen reader testing with macOS VoiceOver and reduced-motion (
prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) verification